The Museum of Ventura County received a brief reprieve after Ventura’s elected officials voted to throw the struggling institution what could be a lifeline to keep its operations going.

The $125,000 contribution is for six months and it is dependent on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors approving a separate request the museum made for help. The museum is asking for $2.25 million over five years. It also has requested $166,000 from Santa Paula.

The Ventura City Council’s action Monday specified that funding could last up to five years, assuming the museum meets specific benchmarks and Ventura has the money to give. The museum requested $950,000 in either financial or in-kind services such as landscaping or maintenance over that period.

Assistant County Executive Officer Matt Carroll said he anticipated the request would come to supervisors sometime this month.

“It’s under consideration and we’re reviewing it now. There was a lot to the request,” he said.

Carroll declined to comment on whether the county was in a position financially to fulfill the museum’s request or speculate on any action supervisors might take.

Santa Paula City Manager Michael Rock said in an email that he had just received the museum's request this week.

"I will need more time to prepare a response to the museum," he wrote in an email to The Star. "The City of Santa Paula just balanced the general fund budget on June 26, 2017, by cutting $1.5 million in general fund expenditures to close the gap."

The museum has two sites: the one in downtown Ventura and the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula.

The Ventura City Council didn’t specify where the money would come from, instead directing the city staff to return with either potential sources of funding or cuts. City Manager Mark Watkins said the money could come from the general fund reserve — which the council is trying to build up to equal three months worth of operating expenses; its most recent budget added $1.5 million to that end — or from the council’s contingency fund, which has $250,000 for 2017-18. Neither of those sources is a likely long-term source of funding.

The city staff will also look at potential cuts to offset the unexpected expenditure, which is outside of the 2017-18 budget that was just passed. Officials agreed that the new half-cent sales tax, Measure O, should not be used to help fund the museum. In fact, council member Mike Tracy in the motion specified that if a program or service were recommended for cutting, it should not then be paid for with the new tax.

Measure O is a general fund measure, meaning its revenues can be spent on anything. But the council, in pushing for it, promised to use it for infrastructure, water quality, public safety and homeless services, among other things. Measure O is expected to raise $10.8 million in the first year, and most of the revenues haven't been allocated yet.

The motion also stipulated that the museum provide a detailed budget and plan for how it will change the way it operates, as well as meet fundraising milestones.

The museum’s interim executive director, Elena Brokaw, said she is hoping to create a $10 million endowment fund. Not having one has been a major misstep, she told the council when asked how the museum had gotten into such a precarious situation.

The museum since 2012-13 has been spending more than it takes in, the nonprofit's federal tax filings show. It used reserves to pay operating expenses, something the board wasn't completely aware of, Brokaw said.

In her post, Brokaw receives $88,000 per year. Her plan is to hire a consultant who specializes in museums to figure out how best to sort the collection and how to update and revamp its offerings, at a cost of roughly $150,000 for two years, she said.

Tracy asked how the board would effectively oversee the money the city might provide. Brokaw said the board was getting training and learning that it "has to be drastically different than what it was in the past."

The museum has enough money to last a few more weeks, Brokaw said. She planned to call the county Tuesday to see when supervisors might hear the matter.

Brokaw says there's a major donor waiting to help if museum stays open. "Thank you for not mentioning my name," Councilman Tracy quipped.

Ventura Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Caldwell said the organization supported the city’s donation, even as she realized the irony of potentially taking from reserves to bail out an organization that had gotten into trouble by dipping into its reserves.

The museum provides an economic and cultural boon to the city, she said.

“I think it’s really an experiential revolution that needs to happen,” she said.

Dave Grau of the Ventura County Taxpayers Association urged the council to slow down before committing years of money. He questioned the wisdom of giving to an organization that had waited until it was just days away from running out of money before seeking a bailout.

The museum hadn’t presented a clear plan for what would change and where the money would go, he said. But Grau was pleased by the council’s decision to make the city's contribution contingent on the county approving support.

Council member Jim Monahan, the council’s liaison to the museum for the past decade, asked when the city would cut the museum its first check. Mayor Erik Nasarenko explained that the county first had to agree to support the museum.

Monahan then urged those in the crowd to attend the supervisors meeting when it comes for a vote.

After the meeting, Brokaw accepted hugs and words of congratulations from the dozens of supporters who had come out to urge the council to support the museum.

“I think it’s great. I think it’s really a smart way to safeguard public funds,” Brokaw said. “I am absolutely confident we can meet the (milestones) and I am very excited about the opportunity to reinvent the museum.”